The city is currently facing two development issues that involve loss of parkland in the river valley and ravine system.

One is Epcor’s proposal to cover an area of floodplain it owns in the southwest with solar panels. The other is to build a “monster home” on a private but vacant lot in the middle of Mill Creek Ravine Park, literally a stone’s throw from the creek and abutting two public trails.

Strathcona Community League appealed the city-issued permit to build the house. Members and their associates put in hours of volunteer research and then argued eloquently at the appeal board hearing last week that the development would damage the natural environment and reduce the amenity value of the park for users.

However, citizens with common sense and a vision for a better future are no match for economics (in the case of the Epcor solar farm) and for inconsistent and contradictory bylaws, the narrow mandate of the appeal board to “test” the appeal, and smooth-talking, precedent-quoting lawyers who follow only the letter of the law, in the case of the Mill Creek house.

The shameful, emperor-has-no-clothes fact is that, despite its well-intentioned policies, studies, and occasional gains, the city has neither the will nor the tools to protect its river valley parkland.

P.J. Cotterill, Edmonton

Separating recyclables at home makes sense

For many years now, our family has separated clean newspapers from kitchen recyclables and put them out in separate blue bags.

How naïve we must have been to assume that they would be handled independently and not just compacted together in the same load. Obviously, carrying out this simple curb-side separation is one way of increasing our landfill diversion rate.

Jim Thomson, Edmonton

What would anyone do in Stanley’s situation?

For all of us lucky enough to live in a city with a reasonably quick response time from police, let me ask you to imagine something. Take away all the races, ages, sexes, geographical and statistical crime issues from the Gerald Stanley case and focus on one thing; if a group of four strangers walked into your suburban house out of nowhere, what would you do?

Think you might get a little anxious? Now have one of the four try to steal something from your house. Would you feel as if things are getting out of control? As this is going on, keep in the back of your mind that help is not right there, you’re outnumbered, your family is depending on you and you have no idea what this group is capable of or planning to do.

As I’ve never had such a traumatic experience happen to me, I cannot say in all honesty what I would do. I suspect that calling 911 while my family huddles in some corner hoping for the best or giving group hugs to the crew that came into my house would not be among the first options. Where has the voice of common sense gone?

Trevor Quigley, Edmonton

Memorial captured essence of Tommy Banks

I woke up Thursday morning in your beautiful city of Edmonton with hope, inspiration and gratitude.

Never have I been moved to tears by the music honouring the life of one man, Tommy Banks. There was so much love at the Winspear Centre but as I soon found out, this was more than just affection; this was living history. This was honouring an icon — a legend.

The spoken word, the Hymn to Freedom by those beautiful children, the humour, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Tommy’s musical pals and, of course, his family, every comment, every moment captured the essence of the man.

As a Senator who worked with Tommy, I am so grateful that I got to know him. Always gracious, always questioning and always wanting to know more, that was the Tommy Banks in the political arena. Tommy, a person of great humility shared his time equally — Tommy, the music man; Tommy- the family man.

Thank you Edmonton for sharing him with the rest of the country. Play on Tommy, play on.

Jim Munson, Senator for Ontario, Ottawa

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